


Steve's Baby

by stuckyfucky



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Adorable Bucky Barnes, Age Play Caregiver Sam Wilson, Age Play Caregiver Steve Rogers, Age Play Little Bucky Barnes, Age Regression/De-Aging, Awesome Sam Wilson, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Caregiver Sam Wilson, Caregiver Steve Rogers, Daddy Steve, Diapers, Fluff, Gen, I don't actually know what the fluff tag means, I don't actually know where I'm going with this, I'm adding it anyway cause i think it fits, I'm apparently now just adding loads of tags, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Torture, Little Bucky, Littles and caregivers AU, Non-Sexual Age Play, Not Canon Compliant, Pacifiers, Past Abuse, Past Torture, Protective Sam Wilson, Protective Steve Rogers, Sam & Bucky having a fun time, Sam Wilson Is a Good Bro, Sam Wilson is a Gift, Sam Wilson is a Saint, Sam takes care of Bucky while Steve's in the hospital, Shopping, Steve Rogers & Sam Wilson Friendship, Uncle Sam Wilson, Wetting, alternate universe - littles are known, baby bucky, bottles, caregiver steve, daddy Steve Rogers, tidbits of CA:TFA, tidbits of CA:TWS
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 06:48:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 16,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29555166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stuckyfucky/pseuds/stuckyfucky
Summary: Everything i know about this is from reading other little/caregiver AU fics, so stuff like "testing" and all that, that's where I got it from. Everything may not be accurate, idk.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Sam Wilson, James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers
Comments: 22
Kudos: 111





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything i know about this is from reading other little/caregiver AU fics, so stuff like "testing" and all that, that's where I got it from. Everything may not be accurate, idk.

It's been 3 years since Steve came out of the ice. 3 years since Nick Fury asked him to join the Avengers Initiative. 3 years in a different world, a different time, unfamiliar and unsettling, but he's been getting used to it.

Steve never wanted another little after waking up in the future. Call him selfish if you must, but he just couldn't do it. He knew he could never love another baby like he loved his little Bucky. He still had nightmares about the train. If only he could have reached a little farther, tried a little harder, maybe he could have saved him.

It was awkward, back then, being so small and sickly, yet testing as a caregiver. Everyone was so sure he was a little. So the news that he was a caregiver was a shock to his family and friends. 

Bucky had been tested before Steve - because he was a year older, and testing is on a person's 13th birthday. Bucky was a little, so Steve was elated to be a caregiver. It meant that once he was 18, he could legally become Bucky's caregiver, and that's exactly what he did.

Steve did his best to take care of Bucky, it was hard with the little money they had, and his poor health, but they made do. Bucky worked on the days he was big, bringing in money for the rent, food, and other expenses. Steve tried to find odd jobs here and there, babysitting other littles, sweeping up in shops, bagging people's groceries at the market, stuff like that.

They were happy, regardless of how much money they had. Steve loved his little baby and Bucky loved his daddy. So when Bucky was drafted, Steve didn't want him to go.

"I thought they couldn't draft littles!" He'd said.

But it turned out they could, and would, so Steve tried to sign up too, he wanted to be there for his baby.

But the army wouldn't take him, too many health problems, they said. It didn't stop him from trying though, again, and again, and again.

Then he met Dr. Erskine, and became a candidate for an experimental serum. He got to go train for the military while he waited for the procedure. The serum made him big, and strong, and eliminated his ailments. 

At first, they still wouldn't let him fight. They made him do show work, trying to sell bonds and dancing on stage. He just wanted to go fight alongside Bucky. 

So when he got word that the 107th - Bucky's unit, was captured in Azzano, he disobeyed his orders and went to his baby's rescue.

From there, they fought together, Steve and Bucky and the Howling Commandos. Until the train. When he couldn't reach Bucky's hand. And he watched with tears in his eyes, his heart seemingly splitting in two as his baby fell to his death.

He had nothing to go on for after that, so when the time came where his only option was to sacrifice himself to save others, he didn't have to hesitate. He crashed into the ocean, letting the frigid waters consume him.

When he woke up in the future, the year 2011, it was disorienting. He knew no one, and knew nothing of these modern times. The pain lingered, even now, so long after the train. To him, it hadn't been that long. But he was slowly learning to cope.

Until the Winter Soldier showed up. They fought, and fought, until Steve knocked off his mask.

"...Bucky?"

"Who the hell is Bucky?"

And just like that, the world stopped turning. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's 2:30 AM, and I have to be up at 7 but I'm writing cause I can't sleep 😔  
> I just thought up this story before I started writing it, don't know exactly where it's going.  
> Next chapter may come later today, or I might work on it now if I still can't sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

After the mission in DC, the Asset found himself in front of secretary Pierce. 

"Mission report."

The Asset was too deep in thought, not hearing the secretary's words.

"Mission report, now."

The man on the bridge...he called him...'Bucky'. It woke something up inside of him. He was starting to feel... strange. Memories, vague and blurry, piecing together in his mind. Being held, comforted, loved. By the man on the bridge. It didn't make sense. Hasn't he always been the Asset? He doesn't know anything before Hydra.

A stinging slap to his face brings him back to the present. 

"The man on the bridge...who was he?"

"You met him earlier this week on another assignment."

"But...I knew him."

"No you don't. He's not important. Your mission is important."

"Wasn't he... my daddy?"

He knows about littles and caregivers. Everyone does. Hydra lets him be little, only when necessary, because he needs it to survive. But they don't take care of him. There's a catch to everything. They give him diapers, but they don't change him until the diaper is leaking and then he gets a beating for not holding it. They give him bottles, but he better choke it down fast or he gets a beating for wasting time. If he cries from a beating, he gets beat harder or a whipping. 

Most of the agents are cruel and harsh. Being neutrals, they don't have the protective, nurturing instincts of caregivers. Only a few of the agents are caregivers. Sometimes when alone, they are kind. He remembers being bounced on Commander Rumlow's lap. Agent Rollins rubbing his tummy when he had a tummy ache. It wasn't that they loved or cared about him, it was just their caregiver instincts taking over. They were still cruel when he was big.

But the man on the bridge, he feels is different. Something about the way he looked at him, the way he said, 'Bucky'... he doesn't understand. The images in his mind are confusing. 

"Wipe him. Start over." Pierce says.

The Asset is roughly pushed back in the chair, the restraints coming down on him to hold him in place. An agent places the bite guard into his mouth. He's scared, he doesn't remember alot of things but he knows this will hurt. He's breathing hard, tears in his eyes as the chair starts to recline and the headpiece comes down. He doesn't want it to hurt. He doesn't want to lose the comforting flashes in his mind, flashes of the man on the bridge. 

He screams as the chair powers on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, everything i know about this is from reading other little/caregiver au fics. I've seen the word "neutral" in a few of them, as a term for someone who's not a little or caregiver. I don't know exactly what it means, so I just made something up. I've also seen the idea of littles being like, biologically wired to be little? And they need to be little every so often to be healthy. So idk, I just decided to throw that in. I've never been involved in any type of age play, I only know about it from fics. So things may not be accurate.


	3. Chapter 3

When Sam first met Steve, he had no idea what he was in for.

He certainly wasn't expecting him to show up one day on his front porch with the Black Widow, seeking asylum from an organization that was apparently out to kill them.

Don't get him wrong, he'll gladly do what he needs to do to help out a friend. He just wasn't expecting it, is all.

So now, here he is, in the helicopter with Natasha and Nick Fury, searching for Steve after he stopped project insight. Sam had to jump into said helicopter from the 41st floor of a collapsing building after fighting Rumlow, because apparently, things just keep getting crazier.

He had been glad to help Steve out on this mission. They had people to save, and he was one of the only friends Steve had on his side.

Sure, he would miss his wings. And his car. Both of which had been destroyed by the Winter Soldier. But right now, his focus was single minded: finding Steve, and making sure he was alright.

When they spot the wreckage of the helicarrier, scattered both in and around the Potomac, Sam's stomach drops.

No, no no no. Let Steve be okay. Please let Steve be okay. He can't lose another friend like this.

He leaves Fury and Nat guarding the helicopter while he gets out on foot to comb the shore. He walks up and down, searching for a full 10 minutes before he spots Steve, lying on his back in the dirt, just shy of the waterline. But Steve's not the only person he sees.

He approaches cautiously, gun drawn, as he watches the Winter Soldier. He's got his back to Sam - thankfully. He's kneeling over Steve, and Sam really hopes he's not about to approach and see Steve's throat slit or some shit like that.

As he gets closer, he notices the Soldier's shoulders shaking. A little closer, and he can hear the sobs.

He keeps his gun aimed at the back of his head, not sure what's happening. He knows the Winter Soldier is Bucky Barnes, Steve's best friend from the old days. Maybe he's remembered. Maybe he's killed Steve and the crying is guilt. Sam hopes that's not the case.

"Hey." Sam says as he edges towards the pair. "Hey! Turn around slowly."

Barnes doesn't listen, still sitting there, sobbing like a...like a...baby. Shit. Is Barnes little? That seems like a kind of important detail for Steve to have left out.

"Turn around, now!" Sam yells.

Barnes turns to him then, eyes wide and wet, face red and splotchy from crying. He falls back onto his ass in the dirt from his kneeling position, as he shakily sobs,

"D-daddyyyyy!"

Shit. 

Sam's caregiver instincts are immediately kicking in.

He puts his gun away, crouching down to the little's level to speak to him.

"Hey, buddy. It's okay. Don't cry."

Barnes continues to cry anyway.

"I th-think I hurt m-my daddy." He sobs. "I-I didn't mean t-to. They m-made me do it!"

"It's gonna be okay, little guy. I'm here to help your daddy." Sam says. "Is he breathing?"

Barnes wipes his eyes with the back of his sleeve as he nods.

"Okay, that's good, at least. We need to get him to the hospital. They'll make him better there. You need to come, too. I think some people will want to talk to you. Probably not right now, but when you're big again."

"Ok-kay."

"I have Steve and the Winter Soldier with me," Sam says into his earpiece. "Steve needs medical attention. He's unconscious. I'll need help getting him to the chopper."

"Did you just say you have the Winter Soldier with you?!" Fury barks back immediately. 

"He's not a threat at the moment." Sam says. "He's little."

"Shit." Fury says, and Sam thinks he agrees.

Fury and Nat come not long after Sam tells them the coordinates. Natasha, being a fellow caregiver, takes to quietly trying to soothe the sobbing little as they walk back to the helicopter. Fury is a neutral, so he doesn't have caregiver instincts, but he's not an idiot. He knows he can't interrogate or imprison the Winter Soldier while he's little, so he keeps quiet, helping Sam carry Steve.

Once Steve is checked in and confirmed to be alright, albeit injured and still unconscious, at the hospital, Sam summons an Uber to take him home. He plans to be back by the time Steve wakes up, but the doctors say that won't be soon. 

Right now, though, he's got a metal-armed, brainwashed little who needs a bath, a meal and a nap. He's never had a little of his own, being in the military and all, he was constantly on the move and it just wasn't practical or ideal. But he has experience. He's volunteered at little homes before, with the littles who don't have a caregiver, and he's babysat friend's littles. And of course, he's got his basic caregiver instincts. He'll take good care of Steve's little until he's awake and well enough to take him. 

Because, after all, Sam would do anything to help a friend. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I did just skip the whole helicarrier fight scene 😵  
> I couldn't come up with anything for that, it was hard enough to come up with the first 2 chapters because when I thought up this story I mostly just thought up what happens after Bucky is back with Steve.  
> I'm sorry 😔 basically just imagine it happens exactly how it does in the movie, except Bucky doesn't leave after dragging Steve to the shore.


	4. Chapter 4

The app says the driver will be here in about 15 minutes. Barnes is sitting in the chair next to him in the small waiting room, sucking his metal thumb. Still little. Sam turns to talk to him.

"Hey, buddy. Sorry I didn't get to introduce myself earlier. My name is Sam, and I'm a friend of your daddy's. What should I call you? Is Bucky okay?"

Bucky nods.

"Okay, Bucky. So, here's the deal. Your daddy will be asleep for a while, and then he will still need a bit to heal and get better before he can take you home. So, for now, I'm going to take you home with me until that happens. I have an extra bedroom you can stay in, and we can buy whatever you need. I'm a caregiver, but I don't have my own little, so it'll just be us. How's that sound?"

Bucky nods again, though he looks anxious. 

"It'll be okay, Bucky. I have a few questions though, so I can take care of you the best I can. How old are you, when you're little?"

Bucky shrugs. "I don' know." He says around his thumb.

"Okay, that's okay. Do you wear diapers? Or are you potty trained? Or maybe potty training?"

"Diapers." Bucky says, blushing. 

"Okay, no problem. You drink bottles?" Sam asks.

"Sometimes." Says Bucky. 

"You want a pacifier? It would be more sanitary than that thumb."

Bucky nods again.

"Okay. Good answering, Bucky. You're so smart. I'm gonna give you a nice bath when we get home, then you can have a good sleep. And I'll order some of the basic necessities until we can take a trip to the store later, then I'll let you pick out some things. Sound like a plan?" 

Bucky nods.

They get up and go out to the parking lot to wait for the Uber, which is now just a few minutes away. When the driver pulls up, they get in and start their journey to Sam's house.

Bucky has an accident in the car, a little over halfway there, and breaks down in tears again. Sam apologizes profusely to the driver, who waves it off, being a caregiver himself, he knows these things happen. Sam tips him 200% anyway.

Bucky's still crying as Sam opens the door and ushers him inside. 

"I'm sorry." Bucky sobs. "Sorry, sorry, sorry." 

"It's okay. It was just an accident. It happens." Sam reassures him.

"I'm sorry." Bucky says again. "Please don't hit me."

"I'm not gonna hit you! Not for an accident and not for anything. It's okay!" Sam says, worried.

Sam leads Bucky, still crying, into the bathroom, where he gets him undressed as the tub fills. He helps him step in, before sitting down on the closed toilet seat and pulling out his phone.

He orders the basics through instacart. A pack of diapers, some wipes, a couple bottles and sippy cups and cans of little formula, and a 2 pack of pacifiers. He adds a bag of dinosaur nuggets for lunch, as an afterthought. He orders and goes to the tub to wash Bucky.

Bucky stays quiet as Sam washes him, following his instructions, 'lift your arm,; lean forward for me,; good job'. He's calmed down by the time he's clean.

Sam dries him off and dresses him in an old t-shirt and some loose sweats he finds in the back of his closet. No underwear, since the app shows the diapers will be here soon anyway. He folds a towel and puts it on the couch, instructing Bucky to sit down on it.

The knock on the door comes a few minutes later, and Sam goes to collect his order, bringing it in and then bringing Bucky to the spare bedroom. 

Bucky's rubbing his eyes as Sam diapers him, he must be tired by now. So Sam gives him a pacifier once he's dressed again, and lays him on the bed, pulling the blanket over him.

"You want a bottle, sweetie? We'll have lunch after your nap. But you can have your bottle now, or with lunch. It's up to you."

"Now, please." Bucky says, yawning.

Sam goes to the kitchen to prepare the bottle of formula, and brings it back to Bucky in the bedroom. He hands it over and watches as Bucky grabs it and immediately starts sucking it down quickly, sputtering and coughing but still trying to drink it too fast.

Sam grabs it from him and Bucky whines, before flinching as he remembers whining is bad.

"Slow down, bud. The bottle's not going anywhere, you know that right? I'm not gonna take it from you." Sam says.

"I gotta drink it fast!" Bucky says, "Can't waste time or I'll be in trouble!"

"You won't be in trouble, Bucky." Sam says. "Take your time. I don't want you to drink it too fast and choke or make yourself sick."

Sam hands the bottle back and Bucky eyes him wearily, before he lays back and puts the nipple in his mouth. He stares at Sam as he nurses on it, slower this time, and Sam watches as he blinks, eyes drooping lower each time, until they finally stay closed. As he sucks up the last of the formula and Sam hears the sound of air going through the nipple rather than liquid, he gently takes it from Bucky's mouth and quickly replaces it with the pacifier. Bucky stirs a bit but his eyes remain closed as he suckles the pacifier, sighing as he relaxes into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the chapters are so short.  
> Also, I know in the movie Steve dislocated Bucky’s shoulder, and he probably would need that checked out and fixed at the hospital, but I hate that that happened, so I'm pretending it didn't and that Steve didn't really hurt Bucky at all, just restrained him and incapacitated him a little bit. Pretend with me?


	5. Chapter 5

Bucky whines when he feels hands on his shoulder, shaking him awake. He realizes a second later what he's done, whining is _bad_. His eyes fly open and he waits to be struck, but it doesn't come. He rolls over and sees Sam sitting on the edge of the bed. He doesn't look angry. He's smiling.

Bucky sucks on his pacifier and relaxes a little. Sam's nice. He let him have a warm bath instead of just spraying him with freezing water, he let him drink his bottle at his own pace, he didn't punish him for peeing in the car. And he gave him a pacifier. He hasn't had a pacifier in a long, long time.

"Hey, baby boy. I let you sleep an hour and a half, I think any longer and you'll be up all night. Did you have a good nap?" Sam asks.

Bucky nods, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he does. He realizes his diaper is wet, but he doesn't know if he should tell Sam. Sam hasn't beaten him yet, and he says he won't hit him, but that could be a lie. This whole thing could be a trick, or some kind of test. Hydra always had tricks and tests. He doesn't want this to be a trick. 

He doesn't realize he's crying until Sam speaks again.

"What's wrong, Bucky?"

Bucky doesn't know what he should say. He hates being wet but what if Sam does punish him even though he said he won't? And how much more trouble would he be in for lying?

"Miss my daddy." He says, since it's not really a lie. He does miss daddy.

"Oh, I know you do, sweetheart. It's alright, your daddy will be better and ready to take you home in no time. We'll go visit him soon enough, okay? It'll be alright." Sam says. "Are you hungry? I've got a yummy lunch ready for you in the kitchen, I bet that'll help."

Bucky _is_ hungry, so he wipes his eyes and nods, holding his arms out to be picked up. Sam's eyes get a little wide, and Bucky wonders if he's about to finally be punished. What was he thinking? Of course Sam wouldn't want to hold him. He's just a disgusting brat. That's what the Hydra agents always said.

"Sorry." He says, putting his arms back down.

"No, no, baby it's okay. I just was a little surprised, is all. I didn't think you trusted me that much yet. Come here."

Sam reaches down and slips his hands under Bucky's arms, picking him up with a grunt.

"Wow, you're a big boy, aren't you. How much of this weight is just the arm?"

Sam puts one arm on Bucky’s back and the other under his butt as Bucky wraps his legs around his waist. But then he says,

"Hold on, you're pretty wet. Let's get that taken care of first."

He puts Bucky back down on the bed and goes to get the diapers and wipes from on top of the dresser.

"Sorry." Bucky whimpers. Now he'll see whether Sam was telling the truth or not about hitting him.

"It's alright, Bucky. That's why you've got a diaper on, It's not your fault. Don't be sorry."

Sam's gentle as he opens the soaked diaper and wipes him off, but Bucky can't stop the tears from coming back anyway. He's still scared, he's so used to being punished for this and he doesn't understand why Sam's not beating him.

"It's okay, baby. You don't have to cry. I'm not mad."

Sam finishes taping the dry diaper around his waist and slides his pants back up before he picks him up again. Bucky lays his head on Sam's shoulder as he's carried out of the room, and soon Sam's sitting him in a chair at the kitchen table, and his fear is forgotten when he sees the plate in front of him.

"Wow!" Bucky says. There's dinosaurs on his plate! And apple slices and carrots, but he doesn't even care about that! He's got dinosaurs! He's never eaten those before. "Mine?" He asks hopefully, pointing to the plate.

"Yup, all yours. Dino chicken nuggets, apples and carrots. A good meal for a good boy." Sam says, and Bucky blushes a little. Nobody at Hydra ever called him a good boy. It makes him happy.

He eats all his food, even the carrots, because he likes being a good boy. The food was yummy, just like Sam said. Sam gives him a sippy cup and he sips on it a little, it's orange juice. He drinks it happily as Sam takes his plate to the sink.

"How about that shopping trip now, huh? You ready to hit the store?" Sam asks.

Bucky nods, still drinking his juice. 

"Let me get us a ride then." Says Sam. He takes out his phone and taps at it a few times. "Uber will be here in 10 minutes. Let's get ready."

Bucky follows Sam back to the bedroom, where he watches him dig a backpack out of the closet and put a few diapers, a pack of wipes, and a pacifier inside. He hands Bucky the other pacifier, which he left on the bed when he went to eat lunch. Bucky puts it in his mouth and sucks it while he follows Sam to the kitchen. Sam rinses out the sippy cup he just drank, and fills it with water before he puts that in the backpack, too. Sam helps him pull on a hoodie he grabs off the coat rack, and puts his own jacket on.

"Let's go wait outside."

It doesn't take long for the car to pull up, and they get in.

Soon enough they're being dropped off at the store, and Bucky's in awe when they walk in. There's so much stuff. This looks nothing like the tiny shops and stands in his fuzzy memories of before, which have been slowly slipping into his mind.

He startles a little when Sam lifts him up, because he wasn't paying attention. He sits him down in the seat of a shopping cart. Wow! Shopping carts have seats in them now? Sam buckles him in and starts pushing the cart through the store.

They stroll to a section in the back with a hanging sign that says "Littles". Sam starts looking through some clothes on a rack. He holds up a few footie pajamas for Bucky to see. One pair is light blue with multi-colored dinosaurs all over them, one black with planets and stars, and one red with jungle animals. Bucky smiles, so Sam puts them in the cart.

Sam gasps as he goes back to looking at the rack. "You need this." He says, holding up a 2 piece pair of pajamas that look like daddy's Captain America suit. "Steve will either think it's adorable, or he'll be annoyed. Either way, I'm buying it." Sam says, putting them in the cart.

Sam pushes the cart a little more before they come to some daytime clothes. He picks out a few pairs of soft joggers, letting Bucky see and approve of them before adding them to the cart. Bucky mostly picks blacks and greys and navy blues, but he does pick a nice red pair he likes. He also picks out a few shirts, a red and black striped long sleeve one with a pocket, another one the same but grey and yellow stripes, a blue t-shirt with dinosaurs all over it, a black t-shirt with lightning bolts all over it, and a few different colors of plain t-shirts and long sleeve shirts. Sam also grabs a pair of dark blue denim overalls which he says are "too cute not to buy." Sam tosses a 12 pack of socks in different colors into the cart and they move on.

Bucky picks some slip on sneakers with dinosaur skeletons on them, as well as a pair that looks the same but plain black. They walk to another aisle, and Sam grabs some more diapers and another pack of pacifiers, as well as a few more bottles and cans of formula. 

When they walk through the toys aisle, Bucky's eyes land on a teddy bear that he really wants! It's brown and fuzzy and looks really cuddly. It's got soft claws and little paw pads on it's feet. He wants it real bad, but he doesn't ask. Sam's already buying him all this stuff. But Sam sees him staring. 

"What do you see, Bucky?"

"Bear." Bucky points at it.

Sam picks it up and looks it over, then hands it to him. Bucky hugs it and it's just as cuddly as he thought it would be. He smiles and Sam laughs.

"You're such a cute baby. I bet Steve spoils you rotten. How could he not, seeing that smiley face."

Bucky blushes a little and puts his pacifier in his mouth, suckling on it as he cuddles his bear.

Bucky feels his diaper start to get wet as they walk back towards the front of the store to the checkout lines. Sam hasn't punished him yet, but that was only at his house. Now they were out in public, and he'd be embarrassed by Bucky being a gross baby. He probably wouldn't get off so easy this time. He squirms uncomfortably at the feeling of the diaper becoming warm and soggy between his legs, but he doesn't say anything.

"What's the matter, bud?" Sam asks, seeing the squirming. 

Bucky just shakes his head and looks at the floor, suckling a little harder on his pacifier, and hugging his bear a little tighter. He hopes Sam doesn't take either of them away as punishment. 

"Are you wet?" Sam asks.

Bucky looks back up, shocked. How did he know? He nods, blushing again.

"That's fine. I'll change you in the bathroom after we check out. I have to go anyway." Sam says.

They go through the checkout line and Sam puts the items on the belt. Bucky cries a little bit when Sam takes his teddy bear, but Sam promises he's not taking it away, the lady just needs to scan it so it can be paid for. He hands it back to Bucky right afterwards.

The nice cashier cooes at Bucky. "Aww, you're a cutie." She says, and she makes silly faces at him while Sam swipes his card. Bucky giggles. 

Sam walks the cart back to where they got it from, and unbuckles Bucky from the seat, lifting him out and setting him on his feet. He picks up the bags and they walk to the bathroom. 

Sam pulls down the littles changing station, which is right next to the one for actual babies, and lays Bucky on it. He pulls a diaper and the wipes from the backpack and changes him quickly, and Bucky sits quietly on the table while Sam does his business at the urinal. Sam washes his hands and grabs the bags and they leave. It's starting to get dark outside when they walk out of the store.

Sam orders another car to come, which he calls an "Uber". When the Uber gets there, Sam puts all the bags in the trunk and they get in the back to go home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bucky's teddy bear is actually my favorite childhood teddy bear, which I unfortunately no longer have as it was lost a long time ago 😔 (I was a child of the foster care system, so belongings were "lost" or stolen probably more often than you think): https://pin.it/49hIoAj  
> Captain America pajamas: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0733XD4T5/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_G8Z4J4MKGTRTAJKVKF9A  
> Bucky's shoes: https://www.vans.com/shop/kids-dino-glow-skeleton-classic-slip-on-glow-black?bc_pid=QlVUMkpM&utm_source=bluecore&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=window_shopping&obem=35ER3KHlCUcFOa-4bV0REIRP3JawPJtavY3WyT7DgWo%3D&bc_lcid=t5832879798845440lw6498324583383040#hero=3  
> Sam ate his own lunch before he woke Bucky up, if anyone was wondering whether I was making him starve lol


	6. Chapter 6

It's about dinner time by the time they get home. Sam brings Bucky into the spare bedroom, sitting him on the bed while he puts away the newly bought clothes. 

"You like pizza?" He asks Bucky, who is playing with his teddy bear.

"Yeah, yeah! Pizza!" Bucky replies excitedly. 

Sam chuckles. "Okay, pizza for dinner it is."

Sam finishes putting the clothes away before he pulls his phone out to order their dinner. He orders a large pepperoni pizza, and goes ahead and adds a cookie pizza too, for dessert. He heads to the kitchen where he pulls a package of steam-in-the-bag mixed vegetables from the freezer and pops that into the microwave. 

He hears pattering footsteps approaching before he hears Bucky say,

"M' firthty."

"Come again?" He asks, confused. 

Bucky takes the pacifier out of his mouth so he can speak clearer. "Thirsty." He says.

"Oh, okay. I think your cup is still in the backpack. It's by the door." Sam tells him.

Bucky goes to the backpack pulling out his sippy cup of water. He sips on it as he walks to the living room and sits down on the couch. 

Sam comes in a minute later and sits with him. He picks up the remote and turns on the TV, flipping until he comes to "teletubbies".

He looks to Bucky who is staring in awe at the colorful characters dancing around on the screen in the field with the flowers and bunny rabbits. He chuckles to himself. This kid is adorable. 

When the doorbell rings, Sam goes to get the food. He pays and tips the delivery guy, bringing the boxes to the kitchen. He sets out 2 plates, 2 slices of pizza on each, and servings of the mixed vegetables. He calls for Bucky in the living room, and receives no answer.

"Bucky, dinner." He calls again.

When he's met with silence once more, he goes to the living room. Bucky is still staring at the TV, giggling as Noo-Noo the vacuum is noisily sucking up tubby custard from the floor. 

"Hey bud, dinner's ready." Sam says.

"Wanna watch." Bucky says, pointing at the TV. 

"We can have TV later. Right now, it's dinner time. Don't you want a cookie after you eat?" Sam coaxes.

Bucky looks up at the mention of a cookie, and Sam turns off the TV. Bucky gets up then and follows him to the kitchen.

They sit down to eat and Sam watches Bucky pick up a slice of pizza, pointedly pushing the vegetables to one side of the plate with his spoon. Sam raises an eyebrow at that, but says nothing.

They both eat quietly, and Sam sees Bucky reaching for the box with the cookie after he's finished his pizza. His vegetables are untouched. 

"Little boy, I know I don't see you going for that cookie when you haven't eaten your veggies."

"I can't eat vet'bels." Bucky says with a pout, and Sam has to try way too hard not to laugh. 

"Oh yeah? Why not?" Sam asks.

"It's yucky." Bucky explains. 

"Don't you think your daddy would want you to eat your vegetables?"

"No."

"I think he would. I bet it would make him real happy to hear when we go to see him."

Bucky pouts and glares at Sam, but picks up his spoon anyway. He sticks out his tongue just a little bit and touches it to a single pea on the spoon. "Done." He says.

Sam can't keep from laughing this time. "That is not eating. You know what I meant. Come on, baby. Eat your veggies, then you can have your cookie."

"I'm thirsty." Bucky says.

"You are not. Come on, eat."

"Yes I am! I'm so thirsty, Sammy. I need'a drink."

"Go get your cup." Sam sighs.

Bucky goes to the living room to get his sippy cup and brings it back to Sam. Sam fills it at the sink, keeping watch on Bucky and the plate in front of him, just in case.

"Here." He gives Bucky the cup. 

Bucky drinks slowly, keeping eye contact with Sam while he does. Sam has to smile. The kid is clearly stalling.

Bucky finishes with the water and just stares at the vegetables on his plate. Sam reaches over and picks up the spoon.

"Open wide." He says, holding the spoon out. Bucky turns his face away.

"Come on, Bucky. It's yummy. If you don't eat it, you get no cookie, remember?"

Bucky pulls another pouty face, but reluctantly opens his mouth for the spoon. 

"Good boy." Sam says after Bucky's swallowed the first spoonful.

Bucky smiles and opens his mouth for more. _Ah._ Sam thinks. _So praise is the key._

Sam spoon feeds Bucky all the veggies, making sure to praise him in between bites. "Good boy." "Great job." "I'm proud of you."

Bucky's smiling and blushing by the time the veggies are gone.

"Cookie time!" Sam says, reaching for the box.

He gives Bucky 2 peices of the big cookie, and one piece for himself. Bucky happily devours his treat.

Once they're done, Sam puts the leftover pizza and veggies in the fridge, and the cookie on top of the fridge. He knows Bucky can reach it, but he trusts him not to.

"Let's go see what the teletubbies are doing now, huh?"

They go to the living room where Sam puts the TV on, and Bucky is instantly absorbed by the baby show.

At first, Bucky is happily giggling and laughing at the show, which Sam thinks is adorable. After about an hour, he tenses up and goes quiet. 

Sam looks over and sees Bucky's wet eyes, lower lip trembling, apparently trying not to cry.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Sam asks.

Bucky starts sobbing. "I sorry." He says. "Sorry." 

"Sorry for what, baby? You haven't done anything."

"Sorry." Bucky sobs, burying his face in the teddy bear.

"Aw, come here." Sam says. He reaches over and pulls Bucky into his lap. He rocks him for a few moments before he feels the wetness, and looks over on the couch where Bucky was just sitting. There's a small wet patch there.

"Oh, Bucky it's okay. You had a little leak, huh?"

"S-sorry!" 

"It's alright, sweetie. It's okay. Nothing that can't be fixed. Let's get you changed, alright?"

He stands with Bucky in his arms, and man, he's gonna break his back carrying this boy around. Bucky buries his face in Sam's shoulder, and Sam can feel his tears dampening his shirt.

"Now now, come on bud. You know I'm not angry. It's gonna be okay." He says gently, swaying on his feet to soothe the distressed little.

Bucky sniffles and reaches up to rub his eyes with the hand not holding the teddy bear.

"Are you tired, baby?" Sam asks.

Bucky nods.

Sam carries him to the spare bedroom, laying him down on the bed and going to get the wipes and a diaper. He strips Bucky's clothes off, dropping them into a pile on the floor. 

"Oh, honey you're soaked." He says when he opens up the diaper. The thing is completely saturated. 

"Sorry." 

"You don't have to be sorry. It's not your fault, Bucky." Sam says. "Were you already wet before?"

"Was wet at dinner. And was wet when you was putting away clothes." Bucky says sadly. "M' bad."

"No, sweetheart, no. You're not bad at all. You're such a good boy. It's not bad to pee. Everyone pees. You could have told me you were wet the first time and I would've changed you, baby. Were you scared? Thats why you didn't say anything?"

"Uh-huh."

"It's okay to be scared. But you won't be in trouble for accidents here. You wear diapers for a reason you know. Actually It'd just be a waste of money if you _weren't_ using them. So I'm happy to change you when you need it."

Bucky yawns instead of answering, and rubs his eyes with his fists, so Sam quickly wipes down his crotch and bottom as well as his thighs where the diaper was leaking. He tapes up the new diaper. Bucky's looking up at him now, with drooping red-rimmed eyes. 

"Tired." Bucky says.

"I know, baby. What pajamas do you want?"

"Dinos." 

So Sam pulls the dinosaur covered footie pajamas from the dresser, and gets Bucky dressed in them as gently yet quickly as he can.

"Want milk." Bucky says as Sam's zipping up the pajamas. 

"Okay, I'll get you a bottle right now. Get in bed, alright?"

Sam goes to the kitchen to make Bucky's bottle, and comes back to find him under the blanket, half asleep already. One arm hugs the bear tightly, his other hand is at his face with the thumb in his mouth.

"Hey cutie-pie." Sam says, smiling. "I've got your bottle."

Sam lays down with Bucky. "Don't rush, okay? Take your time with it." He says, handing it over.

Bucky holds the bottle in his mouth with one hand, still hugging the bear in the other. The bottle keeps falling from his hand as he keeps drifting off, and startling himself awake at the loss of the rubber nipple from his mouth.

"Here." Sam says. He puts an arm around Bucky to cradle him close, and holds the bottle to feed him. Bucky nurses it slowly, with long pauses in between periods of suckling as he tries to stay awake to finish it.

When he finally finishes the bottle, Sam reaches over to grab one of the new pacifiers from the nightstand, slipping it into Bucky's mouth and watching it bob up and down as he suckles it almost lazily.

The sight of the sleeping little makes Sam smile. Bucky is just so adorable. How could anyone treat this poor baby so badly? How did they turn such a cute, innocent little into a brainwashed killing machine?

Sam wipes away a tear he didn't feel coming. He doesn't get how people that cruel can exist. He hugs Bucky close, pressing a kiss to the sleeping baby's head. He gets under the blanket, deciding he might as well sleep in here. 

With the warm weight of Bucky held in his arms, and the soft suckling sounds of the pacifier paired with steady breathing, he's asleep in minutes.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for violence and death in a nightmare. I tried to keep it as non-graphic as possible, though. But you can just skip to the '☆' and you won't be missing much amyway.

Bucky's on the helicarrier. He's not Bucky now, he's the Asset. Daddy - no, the mission, is underneath him, as he brutally beats his face in with the metal fist. 

"You're! My! Mission!" He yells between punches.

The mission only looks at him sadly, blood oozing from the cuts on his swollen and bruised face.

"Then finish it. Cause I'm with you to the end of the line."

The Asset startles at the words, growing confused. _End of the line. I'm with you to the end of the line_. He's heard them before. He's starting to feel strange again, fuzzy.

"Steve." He says softly. The mission tries to smile, only to wince from the pain it brings.

"Daddy." The Asset says, and this feels right somehow.

"There's my baby Bucky." The mission says.

The Asset starts to cry. How did they get here. Why is he hurting daddy. He doesn't want to. He's about to beg daddy's forgiveness when a beam falls from somewhere above them, knocking him down. The Asset clings to the side of the helicarrier, watching daddy fall, falling, and falling, into the river below.

The Asset lets go. He falls after daddy, landing with a splash as the water rushes over him. It's dark and he can barely see, but he has to get daddy out. He sees a flash of daddy's blue uniform and reaches after it, grabbing onto the shoulder. 

He pulls daddy up with him to the surface, making sure his head is above water as he swims towards the shore. 

Once he feels the ground under him, he walks, dragging daddy behind him. He drops him on the dirt beyond the waterline, falling to his knees next to him.

"Daddy!" He sobs. "D-daddy! I'm s-sorry daddy!"

Daddy is breathing, but he won't wake up. The Asset can't stop crying now, having fallen completely into his littlespace. He's not supposed to go little during a mission. He's only allowed during the 3 days a week Secretary Pierce has set aside specifically to keep him healthy. But he can't help it right now. 3 days was never enough, anyway. He doesn't even care that he's breaking the rules - he just wants daddy to wake up.

He cries over daddy for what feels like hours before he hears the footsteps approaching. 

"Soldier! What are you doing?" The agent yells.

The Asset turns around, wiping his eyes.

"Are you fucking little right now? You know you're not supposed to do that during missions! Go back to normal! Now!"

The Asset wants to obey, but he can't. He can't just bring himself out of littlespace, he never could. Usually he requires a reset in the chair after his allotted 3 days are up.

"What the hell - is he breathing? Why is he breathing? You didn't complete your mission? Kill him, now!" The agent yells, handing the Asset a gun.

"No, no!" The Asset sobs. "Don't make me h-hurt daddy!"

"Don't make me hurt daddy" the agent mocks in a whiny, high pitched voice. "Shut the fuck up and finish your mission."

"No!" The Asset says.

The agent grabs the gun back, turning it to smack him hard with the butt of it. The Asset feels a warm trickle of blood from where it hit. The agent grabs him by the hair, turning his head forcefully to make him look at daddy. The agent shoots daddy in the head, and the Asset breaks down.

"No, no, daddy!" He screams, and the agent just smacks him with the butt of the gun again. 

"Shut up!" He growls, and starts dragging the Asset behind him, leaving daddy dead in the dirt, blood running from the hole in the center of his forehead, soaking into the ground around him before getting washed away in the waves.

The Asset tries to pull out of the agent's grip, but he's hyperventilating now, and left feeling weak as he sobs and chokes. The agent just turns to kick him in the face before dragging him further.

He drags the Asset all the way back to the transport van, where 2 other agents are waiting. 

"He's fucking little!" The agent dragging him says as they approach. The other agents look annoyed.

"Well snap him out of it." One says. "Pierce is gonna be pissed if he thinks we let him do that. Did he do his mission?"

"No. He pulled him out of the water, tried to fucking save him! I found him like that and tried to give him another chance, and he refused! I had to shoot the fucker myself, but at least it's done." The agent throws the Asset roughly into the back of the van. "You'll be sorry when Pierce hears about this." He says before slamming the doors shut, leaving the Asset alone in the dark.

The Asset tries to calm himself, tries to regulate his breathing to something normal, but it's difficult as he can't stop sobbing the whole way to the base.

The agent drags him from the van, into the base, down the steps, down the hall, and throws him into a cell. The other 2 agents are following behind. 

"Put a diaper on him, before he pisses everywhere." One of them says.

"Get Rollins or Rumlow to do it. Maybe they'll sing him a lullabye and rock him to sleep, too." The other agent says with a laugh.

The Asset knows they're only joking, making fun of him for being little, but it sounds nice. He wants that. But then it makes him think of daddy and he cries louder.

"God, will you fucking shut up!" The first agent says with a backhanded slap to the Asset's face.

The Asset covers his face with his hands, trying to quiet down and stop crying.

"Go get Pierce." The agent says to the others. 

"He's not back yet."

The agent growls frustratedly. "Go get a fucking diaper then. The soldier's little and we can't use the chair without Pierce's authorization."

One of the agents scurries off to find the requested item. He comes back and hands it over to the angry first agent, who turns to the Asset. 

"I'm not changing you so you better keep this clean or you'll be sitting in it!" He says, pushing the Asset back and making him hit his head on the floor.

The Asset only cries, hands still over his face as the agent strips him of his combat boots and tactical pants and puts the diaper on him.

After the diaper is on and the Asset hears the agent stand up, he stays on the ground, unmoving, not wanting to do anything that makes the agents angrier. 

He's still sobbing as the cell doors slam shut and he's left in the darkness once again.

☆

Bucky startles awake. It's dark. His diaper is wet. Was it just a dream? He can't tell. He doesn't remember falling asleep. He starts sobbing loudly, his pacifier falling from his mouth, and that makes him more confused. Where'd a pacifier come from? Then he feels movement, a hand running through his hair, and arm across his chest, and he hears someone talking.

"What's wrong, baby?"

It all starts coming back. He's with Sam. He remembers now. Sam is taking care of him until daddy is out of the hospital. He pulled daddy from the water, and it was Sam who found them, not Hydra. Daddy's not dead. He's just at the hospital. It was just a bad dream. 

"Scared." Bucky sobs, not able to find the words right now to fully express what's wrong. 

Sam hugs him close, sitting up to rock him slowly, and it makes Bucky start to feel calm.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Sam asks.

"Uh-huh." Bucky sniffles and rubs his eyes. "An' it's dark." 

"Well that I can fix. Sit here." Sam says, and he gets up to open the door, walking out. The hallway light comes on and Sam comes back in, leaving the door open, letting the dim light from the hall fill the room.

"Better?" He asks.

Bucky nods, sniffling a little. "Wet."

"Well thank you for telling me, Bucky. What a brave boy. I'll get you cleaned up right now."

So Sam goes to get another diaper and wipes, coming back to unzip Bucky's footie pajamas. He opens the diaper, and Bucky startles a little at the coldness of the wipe, but Sam is quick and before he knows it there's a dry diaper being taped shut on him and his pajamas are being zipped up.

He yawns as Sam pulls him back up to the head of the bed, and gives him his pacifier. He sucks on it, letting it soothe him, and Sam hands him his teddy bear, which he hugs to his chest tightly. He rolls over onto his tummy, and Sam pulls the blanket over them.

"I want daddy." Bucky whimpers, and he feels like crying again.

"We'll go see him tomorrow, okay? He's still in a coma, but we can visit him. He should be waking up soon, he's healing well." Sam says.

"Okay. T'anks, Sam."

"You're welcome, sweetheart."

Sam starts rubbing Bucky's back, and between that and his pacifier, he's quickly soothed back to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just came up with this last minute as a filler between the previous chapter and the next. Sorry if it seems rushed.
> 
> Did anyone else's phone suddenly just stop working? I was right about to post this chapter and then it wouldn't post, my phone suddenly had no service, for like half an hour I couldn't use the internet or make any calls or texts. My neighbors were having the same issue! Was it just my area or was it everyone?


	8. Chapter 8

It's light outside when Bucky wakes up again. He's still on his tummy, and he can feel the grounding weight of an arm over his back. He turns his head, and Sam is still sleeping next to him. He sighs, content, and sucks his pacifier. 

He closes his eyes and tries to drift off again, he knows he was naughty last night, waking Sam up late to take care of him, and Sam should get the extra sleep to make up for it without Bucky bothering him.

But after trying for a few minutes, he can't go back to sleep - he's just not tired. He rolls over onto his back, grabbing his teddy bear and holding it close. He's hungry, and wet, and a little thirsty, but he doesn't want to wake up Sam yet.

He plays with the bear for a bit, before he's bored. He huffs and kicks his legs, rolling onto his side, face to face with Sam. Sam's sleeping deeply, one arm under the pillow his head rests on, and his mouth half open. Bucky doesn't think about what he's doing, he sticks his finger in Sam's mouth. 

Sam snores and rolls over, and Bucky giggles. He props himself up on his elbow, smiling, as his hand reaches out again and he sticks his finger up Sam's nose.

Sam snorts and his eyes open, sitting up fast in his surprise. Bucky's hand drops down and he pulls the blanket over his head to hide. He didn't mean to wake Sam up. 

Sam just starts laughing. "What are you doing, silly baby?"

Bucky doesn't answer, and then he feels hands on him through the blanket, and breaks out in a fit of giggles when Sam starts tickling him.

"Come on, let me see that pretty face!" Sam says, and Bucky shrieks and laughs, kicking off the blanket as Sam continues to tickle him.

"Oh, there you are!" Sam says. Bucky smiles in response to Sam's big grin.

"You ready to start the day?"

Bucky nods, still out of breath from the tickle attack.

Sam gets up, stretches a bit, and goes to grab the diapers and wipes. He comes back and helps Bucky out of his pajamas before changing his wet diaper. 

"What do you want to wear?" Sam asks.

"Clothes."

Sam laughs. "Well yes, you're gonna wear clothes, but what kind?"

"I don' know." Bucky says.

"Okay, I'll pick." Says Sam, going to the closet.

He pulls out Bucky's blue dinosaur shirt, and goes to the dresser where he takes some grey joggers and black socks. He gets Bucky dressed and takes him to the bathroom to brush his teeth and hair. 

"What do you want for breakfast?" Sam asks as he's gently brushing the knots from Bucky's long hair.

"Bottle." Says Bucky, and Sam smiles at how he pronounces it with a lisp, replacing the 'L' sound with a 'W'.

"Of course you can have a bottle. But you still need to eat some real food with it, bud. I'll cook whatever you'd like."

"Cookie?" Bucky asks.

"No," Sam says with a chuckle "I didn't actually mean _anything._ Breakfast foods."

"I don' know."

"Want me to pick?" Sam asks.

"Uh huh."

"Okay." Sam says. Putting the brush down. "Let's go make that bottle first."

Bucky follows Sam to the kitchen and watches him prepare the formula, heating it up in the microwave. He takes out the bottle and screws the top on.

They go out to the living room and sit on the couch, and Sam hands Bucky the bottle - only for him to immediately hand it back. He lays across Sam's lap, his head against the armrest, and looks up at Sam. Sam smiles, and slips an arm behind Bucky's neck to hold him, and holds up the bottle with his other hand. Bucky opens his mouth for it and starts suckling when Sam puts the nipple in.

Sam cooes at the precious little blinking up at him, making him smile shyly around the bottle nipple.

Once he's finished feeding Bucky the bottle, he turns the TV on. It's still on the same channel as last time, and Blue's Clues is playing. It's one of the classic episodes with Steve. Sam leaves Bucky on the couch watching TV, and goes to the kitchen to make breakfast. 

He ends up making bacon and eggs, and gets a couple of yogurt cups from the fridge. That's a healthy enough breakfast. He makes some coffee, fills Bucky's sippy cup with apple juice, and calls him in.

Bucky comes and they sit down to eat. It's quiet, save for the sound of their forks on their plates, and the occasional sipping of Bucky's juice.

"We go see daddy?" Bucky asks after he's eaten. 

Sam had honestly forgotten about that. "Yeah, we'll go see him later. After your nap, if your nap is after lunch. After lunch if you nap before lunch."

Bucky nods, drinking his juice.

Then Sam gets a great idea. "Hey!" He says. "Let's go for a walk. I need to get something from the store."

There's a CVS right down the street, and Sam knows they have what he's looking for. He's seen it in there before.

So he helps Bucky put on his new sneakers with the dinosaur skeletons on them, and puts on his own shoes, he grabs his wallet and they go. 

It's a nice day outside, sunny and warm, so they don't need jackets. They get a few stares, because of Bucky's metal arm, but he's clearly little, holding Sam's hand with his own flesh hand, with a pacifier in his mouth, and the teddy bear tucked securely in said metal arm - so luckily no one is rude enough to stop and ask about it.

They get to the store and Sam leads the way to the crafts aisle, and grabs what he came for. Crayola color wonder markers and a book of color wonder paper. He also grabs a candy bar at the check out, when Bucky asks for it.

On the way home, Sam holds the bear and puts the pacifier in his pocket so Bucky can eat his candy bar, - and somehow end up with chocolate all over his face. 

"Did you eat any of that, or are you wearing all of it?" Sam teases.

He wipes Bucky off with a wipe once they're home, and then sets the markers and paper on the kitchen table.

"I thought you might want to draw a picture for your daddy." Sam says. "And we can give it to him when we go see him. He's still sleeping, but we can leave it for him, so he has it when he wakes up."

"Wanna be there." Bucky says. "When he wake up."

"We'll try. Natasha's been texting me updates. He'll wake up soon. So we'll just have to go every day!" 

Bucky smiles, and reaches for the paper and a blue marker. Sam decides to go clean a little around the house while Bucky's occupied. 

He washes the dishes from this morning, tidies up a little in the bedrooms, sweeps the floors. The trash can isn't all the way full, but it has wet diapers in it, so Sam takes the trash out anyway. He doesn't want the pee smell to linger. Lastly, he puts a load of laundry in the wash before he goes to check on Bucky.

He's still at the table, drawing happily. He's got one finished picture in front of him and he looks to be just finishing up another one. 

"Hey, bud. What did you draw?" Sam asks, picking the finished drawing up.

"Family." Bucky says.

Sam studies the drawing. It's childish and scribbled, but he can see the green on the bottom of the page for grass, and blue at the top for a sky. Theres what looks to be a few flowers, mostly pink, purple, and red. There's 3 blobs with lines sticking out which he assumes to be people. One with scribbled long hair, that he guesses is supposed to be Bucky, and next to Bucky, one covered in blue, and holding a red circle - obviously Steve. There's another on the other side of Bucky, who he can't guess. They're all drawn with smiling faces.

"Who's that?" Sam asks, pointing to the mystery figure.

"You!" Bucky says.

Sam smiles, and drops a kiss on the top of Bucky's head. "Wow, baby. It's so pretty. You really see me as family?"

"Uncle Sam!" Bucky says, grinning. Then, he holds up the second picture he was working on when Sam came in, now apparently finished. It's the same. "And drawed this one for you!"

Sam pulls Bucky into a hug. "Thank you so much baby, you've made my day. What a sweet boy. I love it so much, I'm gonna hang it on the fridge."

He puts it up on the fridge with a magnet, and Bucky grabs another piece of paper. 

"What are you drawing now, sweetheart?" Sam asks.

"Tel'tubbies!" Bucky says.

Sam smiles again. "Well, I'm gonna make lunch now. Any requests?"

"Cookie."

"After lunch. What do you want to eat before a cookie?"

Bucky shrugs.

Sam makes grilled cheese sandwiches, and microwaves the leftover mixed vegetables from last night. He fills Bucky's cup with water, and a glass for himself.

Bucky's finished his drawing by the time lunch is ready. He sets it aside to eat, and Sam puts the markers and paper away.

Bucky eats the sandwiches on his own, and drinks his water, and Sam feeds him the veggies, making sure to tell him what a good boy he's being. He gives Bucky a piece of the big cookie, as promised, and watches him gobble it up. 

After lunch, Sam makes Bucky a bottle, and they head to the bedroom, where Sam changes Bucky's diaper, and lays in bed with him. Bucky lets Sam hold the bottle for him again, and he's asleep before it's finished, so Sam puts the rest in the fridge for later. He goes to the living room, changing the channel to the news, and watches TV while Bucky naps.

An hour later, Sam hears Bucky calling him.

"Uncle Sam" Bucky says. "Sammy."

"I'm coming, baby." Sam calls back, turning off the TV and getting up.

He goes into the bedroom, where Bucky's sitting up in bed, sucking his pacifier. His hair is sticking up on one side where he was laying on the pillow. Sam thinks it's adorable. 

"Did you have a good nap?" Sam asks.

Bucky nods. "Wanna see daddy now."

"We'll do that. Let's get you changed first, then brush out that bedhead of yours."

He changes Bucky's diaper, and then brushes his hair again in the bathroom. He orders an Uber to the hospital, and then helps Bucky put his shoes on again. Bucky grabs his drawing for daddy, and they head out. 

Bucky's quiet in the car, but he's usually quiet anyway. They get there and give their names at the reception desk, and they're given visitors name tags.

Bucky clings to Sam anxiously as they walk into the hospital room. Steve is laying in the hospital bed, with various tubes in him, and the steady beep of the heart monitor is the only sound in the room.

"What that?" Bucky asks, pointing to a tube in Steve's nose.

"That's a feeding tube, since he can't eat while he's sleeping." Sam explains. "And that one's and IV, so he can have water and medicine." Sam says, pointing to the tube in Steve's arm, attached to the IV bag on the pole. "And that one's a catheter, because he can't get up to go to the bathroom." Sam says, pointing to a bag half full of clear-yellowish pee hooked to the end of the bed, attached to a tube that disappears under the blanket.

Bucky nods. "I hadda IV and cat- ca- um," he stumbles over the word. "um, pee pee tube at Hydra" he says sadly, "every time before I went in the cold sleep. Not feedin' tube though."

Sam sits in a chair, pulling Bucky onto his lap. "No more cold sleep, baby. Never again." He says. Bucky leans against him, and Sam kisses cheek.

They stay in the room, just sitting in the chair, looking at Steve, for 7 full hours, besides 2 bathroom breaks for Sam to change Bucky's diaper and use the toilet himself. Sam tries to talk to Bucky while they're in the room with Steve, but Bucky doesn't speak back, he just sits on Sam's lap and stares at Steve, anxiously sucking his pacifier and hugging the bear to his chest.

Sam's ass is numb by the time a nurse comes by and says visiting hours are over. Bucky cries, and doesn't want to leave. Sam lets him hug Steve, gently, and Bucky leaves his picture on the little bedside table next to the hospital bed. 

Bucky keeps crying all the way out to the parking lot, and in the Uber on the way home, and through their dinner of leftover pizza, where he only eats half a slice, and halfway through his bath, before he just goes quiet. Sam tries to talk to him a little, but he doesn't answer. He still follows Sam's instructions so he can wash him, and gets out of the tub when Sam says. But Sam is worried that Bucky seems to have shut down.

He dries him off, diapers him, and dresses him in his Captain America pajamas, thinking maybe that'll help, but Bucky still doesn't speak, or make eye contact. 

Sam lays him down, and makes him a bottle, and Bucky lets him hold it for him, but he looks up at the ceiling instead of at Sam while he drinks it.

Sam slips him the pacifier once the bottle's finished, and Bucky lets Sam cuddle him while he falls asleep. Sam stays awake long after Bucky's fallen asleep. Bucky's behavior is worrying him. He knows he's sad about Steve being hurt, he is too. But Bucky was getting used to Sam just fine, great in fact. He's seemed somewhat happy until now. Sam can't stop worrying. Did he do something wrong? Something to make Bucky not trust or not like him anymore? He hadn't intended to become so attached to Steve's little, he was pretty much just babysitting, after all. But it happened anyway. And now, he can't stand the thought of Bucky hating him. He tries to think rationally. Bucky's probably just upset about Steve being hurt. Even if he knew Steve was in the hospital and in a coma, seeing him like that, in that bed with all the tubes and equipment, is different than just hearing about it. The hospital was probably scary for him, he's little. Maybe he'll wake up in a better mood. Sam tries to think of other things, plans for tomorrow, what he'll make for breakfast. He tries to not worry so hard, he needs to sleep. He just ends up worrying anyway, but at least he falls asleep eventually. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating for a few days - I'd like to lie and say I was busy, but I wasn't - at least not most of the time. I did have a few things I had to do but other than that I was mostly just lying in bed, eating valentines day chocolates I bought on clearance after valentines was over, and boredly scrolling social media. I'm trying to get on with this story, but I'm kinda just stuck 😅 so don't know how often I'll be updating from now on. I spent way too long trying to think of ideas for this chapter, and I just couldn't, so I just made it up as I wrote it. I didn't even proof read, so hopefully there's no mistakes.


	9. Chapter 9

Sam is _tired_ when he wakes up in the morning. Bucky had woken up crying 3 times throughout the night, and refused to say what was wrong, and Sam just had to hold him and let him cry himself back to sleep. Now, Bucky's awake again, and crying again. Sam's head hurts.

"Baby, please. Won't you tell uncle Sam what's wrong?" Sam pleads, only to be met with a shake of the head and more sobbing. 

Sam sighs, and gets up to change Bucky's diaper. He leaves him in his pajamas, not bothering to dress him right now, and takes him to the couch so he can go prepare his morning bottle in the kitchen. 

Bucky quiets while Sam feeds him the bottle, but he still sniffles and tears still slide down his cheeks. He's crying again once the bottle is gone.

Sam takes the bottle to the sink, and decides to take a couple tylenol while he's in the kitchen. He takes a moment to himself, to think, before he goes back to the living room, where Bucky's still crying on the couch.

Sam sits down next to the little and pulls him into his lap. Bucky cuddles close, gripping a hand full of Sam's t-shirt for dear life, his other hand squeezing the teddy bear he takes everywhere with him now.

Sam rocks him a little. "Can you just tell me what's wrong, Bucky?" 

Bucky just shakes his head.

"Are you mad at me, sweetheart?"

Bucky shakes his head, and Sam almost feels relieved. At least it's not something he did. But he's still worried for Bucky. 

"Are you upset about your daddy?" 

Bucky nods.

"Okay, bud. That's perfectly reasonable. It can be scary when someone you love gets hurt. You know your daddy's okay though, right? He's gonna be all better and here to pick you up before you know it."

Bucky nods. Then he speaks for the first time since the hospital last night. " 's my fault."

"What's your fault, baby?"

" 's my fault daddy's hurted."

"No, Bucky, no - it's- well, I mean - uh," Sam has to pause and consider. "It's not _your_ fault, directly. I know you're feeling bad, that you fought your daddy, but it wasn't _you._ Hydra made you do it. They lied, and hurt you, and made you do bad things for them. I won't lie to you, sweetie. I've seen some documents, um, a file. That Natasha got, and gave to your daddy. And he showed it to me. It was about you, and the things they did to you, and things they made you do. They hurt you bad, and they brainwashed you. You didn't do those things of your own will. It's not your fault. It's Hydra's." 

"But I did it." Bucky says, but it sounds more like a question than a statement. 

"Well, technically speaking, yeah, it was your body performing the actions. But it wasn't _you._ If I handed you a gun and told you to shoot someone, would you do it?"

"No!" Bucky replies immediately. 

"Because that's not who you are," Sam says. "Hydra put bad things in your mind and made you do all that. They controlled you and made you hurt people, and hurt your daddy. But it wasn't _you,_ it wasn't. _You_ remembered who you are, and _you_ stopped. _You_ pulled your daddy out of the water, and saved his life. _You_ are a good boy. Hydra is evil, _you_ aren't."

Bucky nods, considering. He wipes his eyes and sniffles, but he doesn't cry anymore. He's quiet for a while as Sam continues to rock him and rub his back.

"Wanna see daddy again." Bucky says after a few minutes.

"We can do that. Of course we can. We'll go right after breakfast. What do you want to eat?"

"You picks." Bucky says.

"Okay, I'll pick. Let's go get ready for the day, okay?"

Sam takes Bucky to the bedroom where Bucky lets him pick his clothes again. Sam takes out a long sleeved black shirt, and the blue denim overalls he couldn't resist buying at the store. He grabs some socks and gets Bucky dressed. He gets dressed himself, in a grey t-shirt and jeans, before he takes Bucky to get his hair and teeth brushed. Then he takes him to the living room again, and turns the TV back to the kids channel. Bear in the Big Blue House is on, and Bucky seems entertained by it.

He makes pancakes with cinnamon and apples in them, and cuts Bucky's into little bite sized pieces. He loads both plates with fresh strawberries, and gets Bucky's sippy cup filled with orange juice, and makes himself some coffee.

Breakfast goes by without any incidents, thankfully, and Bucky seems to have cheered up, even if he's still a little quiet. At least he eats all his food and drinks his juice.

As promised, right after breakfast Sam orders and Uber, packs a few things in his backpack, this time adding a pre-prepared bottle of formula, since Bucky will still need his nap around lunch time, and plenty of snacks, since unless Bucky is willing to leave for a bit to buy some food, they'll probably be skipping lunch. Sam helps Bucky get his shoes on and they leave.

Bucky is anxious again when they arrive. Sam carries him to the reception to get their visitors tags, and they're led back to Steve's room.

Steve's still unconscious, and doesn't seem to have moved since yesterday. A nurse comes by and swaps out the full catheter bag for an empty one, and checks some vitals, but after that Sam and Bucky are left alone with Steve. 

Sam sits in the same chair, Bucky in his lap, and they just sit and look at Steve again.

It's quiet for a few hours, until around noon, when Bucky starts getting fussy. Sam figures he's hungry, and probably tired, so he gets out a bag of chips, a cheese stick, and an applesauce pouch from the backpack. Bucky eats the snacks and is rubbing his eyes by the time he's done. Sam turns him in his lap, so his legs are hanging off the armrest of the chair on one side, and he can lean back while Sam holds him. Sam pulls out the bottle, and feeds it to Bucky, while Bucky's apparently trying hard to stay awake. His eyes fall shut a few times then snap open again, but eventually, stay closed as he suckles at the bottle. Sam replaces the bottle with the pacifier, and Bucky cuddles into Sam's chest, not able to stay awake any longer. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short chapter, but don't worry, I think Steve is gonna wake up in the next one.


	10. Chapter 10

Steve wakes up slowly, confusion running through his mind. The last thing he remembers is falling, after his fight with Bucky on the helicarrier. A steady _beep, beep, beep_ sound starts to filter in through his clouded brain. His throat is dry and sore. His chest aches. What is happening?

He slowly opens his eyes, quickly squeezing them shut again as the harsh shine of fluorescent lighting assaults him. He takes a minute for his vision to adjust before he opens them again.

He can see he's in a hospital bed. The thin pastel green hospital blanket feels scratchy on his skin. His head is pounding as he raises it to look around. His eyes widen at what he sees to his immediate right.

It's Sam, sitting in a chair. In one hand he has a book, but his other hand- his other hand is around _Bucky._ It's Bucky, lying across Sam's lap, his head cuddled into Sam's chest. He's wearing overalls, he's got a pacifier in his mouth and a teddy bear in his arms. It's his baby Bucky. His precious little boy.

"Sam!" Steve says, voice hoarse and scratchy from disuse. 

Sam looks up, lowering his book with a smile. "Hey." He whispers. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore." Steve replies, trying to smile but he knows it's more of a grimace. "But, Sam," he starts. "Bucky... how? I mean, how - where, Sam! It's Bucky!"

Sam chuckles softly, reaching up to sweep a strand of hair off of Bucky's face. "I know it's Bucky. I don't know how much you remember, but he was with you when I found you. And he was little. So I took him home with me."

"He...he pulled me out of the water, didn't he?" Steve asks.

Sam nods. "He did."

"And you've been taking care of him?"

"Yup."

"Sam, you didn't have to do that."

"Yes I did, Steve. You know I'm a caregiver, man. I couldn't just ignore a little in need. I don't mind at all, that's just what friends do for each other. Besides, I actually kind of love the little guy. He's adorable."

"He _is_ pretty cute." Steve says. "Sam, just... thank you. Thank you so much. I really thought I was gonna have to chase him down, save him from Hydra. I hope he hasn't been giving you any trouble?"

"Not at all." Sam says. "He's very well behaved. He's polite, a good listener, he eats his vegetables,"

"Wait, how did you get him to eat _vegetables_?" Steve cuts off, in disbelief. 

"Praise is a great motivator for him. I think he's, you know, gotten used to, uh, _harsher_ treatment. I mean, you've seen the file. But let's not make this all sad by thinking about that. Anyway, he loves praise."

Steve nods. "How long was I out?"

"2 days." Sam says. "We were here yesterday too."

"Okay. How long has he been asleep?"

"Only about half an hour. I'm not waking him up yet. He was up half the night crying, he needs the sleep." 

Now that Steve is more alert, he can see Sam looks tired. "You look like you could use a nap yourself." He says.

Sam sighs. "I'll be fine. I've had my coffee, I can wait for bedtime."

A nurse comes in just then. "Oh! You're awake!" She says.

She goes to fuss a bit over the IV in Steve's arm, and replaces the empty IV bag with a full one. "How are you feeling?" She asks, taking out a blood pressure cuff.

"I've been better." Steve replies with a small smile.

The nurse takes his blood pressure. "Well, now that you're up, is there anything I can get you? Water, maybe?"

"Yeah, I could use some water." Steve says.

"Okay." Says the nurse. "Any pain or nausea?"

"I kinda got a headache. My ribs are a little sore. And my throat hurts a bit." Steve says.

"Okay, I can get you some medicine for your head. You have a couple of cracked ribs, so that accounts for the chest pain. The water may soothe your throat, too." The nurse leaves to get the water.

She comes back in a few minutes later, with a cup of ice water and some syringes. She hands Steve the water.

"Saline, just to flush out the IV." She says, unscrewing the tube from the port in Steve's arm. She puts the syringe in and pushes the plunger. "And morphine, for your ribs. It will help your headache too." She puts the next syringe in. Then she flushes it again and puts the IV tube back in. "Press the call button if you need anything, hun, okay?"

"Yes ma'am." Steve says, and the nurse leaves.

The door shuts a little too loudly behind her. Bucky stirs, and Sam tries to shush him back to sleep, but he's already waking up. 

Bucky rubs at his eyes grogilly for a second, before sitting up in Sam's lap. His pacifier falls from his mouth when he yawns, but Sam catches it and gives it back. Bucky pops it back in, only for it to fall back out when he turns around. 

"Daddy!" Bucky yells, jumping off Sam's lap and running to the hospital bed.

Sam catches him by the back of his overalls. "Whoa, big guy, slow down. You need a change, first of all."

"No I don'!" Bucky whines. "Wanna see daddy!"

Sam doesn't let go. "Yes you do. I know you're wet, you were sitting right on my lap. We're gonna go change in the bathroom, then we'll be right back to see daddy."

"No!" Bucky says, and starts crying. 

"Bucky." Steve says, waiting for Bucky to look up at him. "Be a good boy and listen to Sam. I'll still be right here when you get back. Trust me, I'm not going anywhere."

Bucky reluctantly nods, and lets Sam pick him up. But he still cries to show he's not happy about it. 

Sam takes him to the bathroom, setting him down on the changing table. Bucky cries and squirms, but luckily the overalls have snaps at the crotch and down the legs, so Sam doesn't have to take them all the way off to change him. He changes the wet diaper, and snaps Bucky's overalls back up. Sam uses the toilet and washes his hands before they go back to Steve's room. 

"Daddy!" Bucky whines, kicking his legs for Sam to put him down.

Sam doesn't put him down yet. "Hey, bud. Listen to me, okay?" Sam says. "You be careful with your daddy right now. Don't jump on him, and be gentle, especially around his chest and his head. And don't touch any of the tubes or equipment. He's still not feeling too well, okay?"

Bucky nods impatiently. Sam puts him down, and he runs to Steve's bedside. "Daddy."

"Hey, Bucky. I missed you so much. I heard you've been a very good boy for Sam." Steve says.

"Uh huh, 'm a good boy!" Bucky says. "Love uncle Sam."

Sam and Steve both smile at that.

Bucky grabs the drawing he left on the bedside table yesterday. "Drawed you a pitcher, daddy!" He says, shoving it right in Steve's face.

Steve laughs, pulling back a bit and taking the drawing. "Wow, baby. I love it. It's beautiful, thank you."

Bucky smiles.

Steve gingerly scoots over on the bed, and lowers the railing on one side. "You wanna sit with me, Bucky Bear?"

"Yeah!" Bucky says. He lays next to Steve and tries to cuddle close without hurting him. 

Steve reaches over him and pulls the railing back up.

They lay together for a while, with Steve trying to hug Bucky without hurting himself, and singing whispered lullabies, occasionally interrupted by Sam and Steve chatting about things. Eventually, Bucky's eyes start drooping, and Sam says maybe they should go home so Bucky can have a proper nap.

"No!" Bucky says. "I stay with daddy!"

Sam starts to say something, but he's interrupted by Steve. "It's fine, Sam. I don't mind him napping here with me for a bit. Visiting hours aren't over till 8. I'd love some sleepy cuddles with my baby before you have to go."

"Yeah, yeah! Nap with daddy!" Bucky says.

So Sam grabs the pacifier and teddy bear which have been left on the chair, and brings them to Bucky. Steve holds Bucky gently, while both him and Sam stroke his hair, and it's not long at all until Bucky's drifting off, safe and happy in daddy's arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know anything about nursing or medical stuff, so all might not be accurate. The only experience I have in hospitals has been as a patient.


	11. Chapter 11

It's 3 days later and Sam and Bucky are picking up Steve from the hospital. 

"You sure you got him, Steve?" Sam asks, referring to Bucky in Steve's arms, who has insisted that daddy carries him.

"Yeah, I've got him, thanks." Steve says, carrying Bucky out to the parking lot. "Thanks for the clothes too."

Sam had brought Steve a set of clean clothes to wear out of the hospital, just a simple t-shirt and jeans, but it beats the ripped and bloody uniform he arrived in.

"Don't mention it, man." Sam says.

"Look a' mine, daddy!" Bucky says, showing Steve his pajamas for what must be the 100th time today. He had insisted on wearing pajamas to pick Steve up, his Captain America pajamas to be precise. He was so excited to show daddy.

"Yeah, they're awesome, baby." Steve says. 

Bucky's huge grin lights up his whole face.

They get in the Uber and go back to Sam's house. Steve spends the next hour patiently and intently listening to Bucky as he shows him all his clothes, right down to each and every sock.

"That's great, Buck." Steve says.

"We watch TV now!" Bucky says, grabbing Steve's hand and dragging him out to the living room.

"Are you ever gonna give your daddy a break?" Sam asks Bucky as they walk past him.

"No!" Bucky says, and Sam and Steve laugh.

"I'm fine, Sam. He's just excited." Steve says.

Bucky points Steve to the couch, and sits in his lap after Steve sits down. He hands Steve the remote. "Watch Tel'tubbies." Bucky says. 

Steve turns on the TV, and it's already on a children's channel. Something with a big purple dinosaur singing a song to a group of kids is on.

"No. Want Tel'tubbies!" Bucky whines.

"I don't think that's on right now." Steve says.

Bucky pouts and starts whining, squirming in Steve's lap.

Sam comes in just then, and takes the seat next to them. 

"Hey, Bucky." Sam says. "Look!" He says, pointing at the TV. "It's Barney! He's a dinosaur! You like dinosaurs, don't you?"

"Uh-huh." Bucky says. "Din'saur?"

"Yeah, he's a dinosaur! Let's watch!" Sam says, overenthusiastically. It works though, and Bucky is distracted watching the show.

"Thanks." Steve says. "I was not ready to deal with a tantrum just yet."

Sam chuckles. "He's pretty tame. I haven't seen any tantrums yet. Just a bit of whining now and then."

They all watch the show for a little while, until Sam speaks up.

"When do you think you'll be going back to Brooklyn?" He asks.

"I'm not sure." Steve says. "I haven't been back to my apartment since the whole situation with Fury. Tony's been bugging me to move into the tower with everyone else, but I haven't decided yet."

"Well, no rush." Sam says. "You guys stay here as long as you want."

"I don't want to impose, Sam. We'll figure something out soon."

"You're not imposing. I'd love to have you guys here. I have the extra bedroom just sitting there empty, anyway. And I'm not ready to say goodbye to this guy yet." Sam says, reaching over and tickling Bucky, who giggles and squirms in response.

"Well, if you're sure. Thanks, Sam. For everything."

"M' hungry!" Bucky interrupts, whining. 

"Well okay, Mr. Grouchy. You're grouchy today. I think your nap earlier was too short. What do you want to eat?" Sam says.

"Not grouchy." Bucky pouts.

"If you say so." Steve says with a chuckle.

"Want dinos." Bucky says. "And fries."

"Dino nuggets and French fries, coming up." Sam says, getting up from the couch. "Steve? What're you having?"

"I'm fine, I'll just make a sandwich." Steve says.

"Daddy wants dinos too!" Bucky says.

"Does he?" Sam asks.

"No." Steve says, at the same time Bucky says "yes!"

"Sounds like you do." Sam says, grinning.

"Fine." Steve says. He tries to act annoyed but he's smiling. 

"You need a change." Steve says to Bucky after Sam's gone to the kitchen. 

"I don't!" Bucky says.

"You do." Steve says.

Bucky whines. "No I don'!"

"Bucky." Steve says firmly. "No whining. We've had a good day. Let's keep it up."

"Love you daddy." Bucky says.

"I love you too, baby. But you still need a change."

"Fine." Bucky pouts.

Steve laughs. "Sam's right. You are grouchy. Let's go." He says, getting up and picking Bucky up with him.

Steve takes Bucky to the bedroom and changes his wet diaper before they go out to the kitchen. 

"Hey." Sam says when they walk in. "Food's almost ready. Just waiting for the fries in the oven."

"S' ready now." Bucky says.

"Not yet. It's got about 10 more minutes left." Sam says.

Bucky whines. "M' hungry now!" He starts crying.

"Buck." Steve says. "We know you're hungry. Crying isn't gonna make the oven cook faster. You need to be patient." He sits Bucky down in a chair at the table.

"No!" Bucky says, and kicks Steve's leg. "Sorry. Sorry. Sorry daddy. Sorry. I dint' mean to." He rushes out immediately, flinching and preparing for a blow that doesn't come.

"Thank you, Bucky. I accept your apology. But kicking is not nice."

"Sorry." Bucky says again. "Sorry."

"I already accepted your sorry, baby. Why are you in a bad mood tonight, huh? Are you tired?"

Bucky nods. 

"I've been giving him his bath after dinner every night. But we can just skip it tonight if he's too tired." Sam cuts in.

"No, I'll give him his bath." Steve says. "He still needs it, routines are important. I'll make it quick though."

The timer dings then, and Sam takes the fries out of the oven. 

"It's hot." Sam says to Bucky when he reaches out to grab some off the pan. "You gotta wait, bud."

Bucky slumps back in the chair and starts crying. Steve picks him up and rocks him. "Just a minute, Bucky. You can eat when it's cooled down." He says, patting Bucky's back.

Once the fries have cooled down Sam dishes up 3 plates of fries and dino nuggets. Bucky insists on sitting in Steve's lap, and on Steve feeding him, so Steve takes turns feeding himself and Bucky. 

By the time the food is gone Bucky's yawning and rubbing his eyes, and Steve takes him to the bathroom, getting him undressed and filling the tub.

Bucky tries to stay awake while daddy washes him, but he's so _tired._ He only had a very short nap before they went to the hospital to get daddy, and he didn't sleep alot last night either because he was excited for daddy to come.

Steve makes the bath quick, and by the time he has Bucky in his arms, wrapped in a towel, he's asleep on his shoulder. He carries him to the bedroom, laying him down on the bed and going to pick his pajamas. 

He grabs a pair of black footie pajamas with planets and stars on them, and he grabs a diaper off the top of the dresser. He turns back to Bucky on the bed and sighs.

Apparently he wasn't fast enough, Bucky is still asleep, wrapped in the towel, but there's a big wet spot on the bed under him. 

"Sam." Steve calls from the doorway.

Sam comes in from his room right next door.

"Sorry." Steve says. "Bucky had an accident in the bed. I'll clean it up."

"It's fine, Steve. You take care of him. I got the bed." Sam says.

"Are you sure?" Steve asks.

"Yeah, it's fine."

"Bucky." Steve says. "Bucky, baby, wake up. Let's get back in the tub."

Bucky rolls over and wakes up when he realizes he's wet. He starts crying out apologies. "Sorry! Sorry!"

"It's okay, baby boy. It's okay! Let's get you clean again, it'll all be better. No more sorries." Steve says, picking him up. 

"Why don't you just wipe him up real quick with the baby wipes," Sam says. "He's exhausted. I don't think he'll make it through another bath."

"Alright, good idea." Steve says, grabbing the package of wipes. 

"You can take him to my bed for now. I'll get this taken care of." Sam says.

"Okay, thanks Sam." Steve says, and carries Bucky and the wipes, diaper and pajamas to Sam's room.

He lays Bucky on Sam's bed, and wipes him down quickly. Bucky's already cried himself back to sleep by the time Steve's done. Steve gently lifts his legs up to slide the diaper under him, and tapes up the front. Getting the pajamas on without waking him up is a little more difficult, but Steve manages.

"Hey, so I forgot that I didn't have a mattress cover on that bed." Sam says when he walks in. He didn't know Bucky was sleeping again so he wasn't too quiet, and Bucky wakes up and cries again.

"Oh, my bad." Sam says.

"It's fine," Steve says, picking Bucky up and rocking him. "He's overtired. What about the bed?"

"It didn't have a cover on it." Sam says. "So I put some baking soda on the mattress but it needs to dry. You guys sleep in my bed, I'll take the couch."

"No, Sam, we can't just kick you out of your own bed-" Steve begins, but he's interrupted by Bucky. 

"No!" Bucky says. He's still crying because he's just so tired. "Uncle Sam sleeps with me an' daddy!"

"I don't think we'll all fit in this bed, baby." Sam chuckles. 

"Yes we do!" Bucky whines. "We all fit!" 

"Bucky, calm down. You're so tired, aren't you?" Steve soothes, still rocking the crying little. 

"Uncle Sam sleeps too!" Bucky sobs.

"Why don't you lay him down, Steve. I'll get his bottle." Sam says.

Bucky cries harder when Sam leaves the room, and Steve lays down with him on the bed, cuddling him. Sam comes back in with Bucky's bottle and his teddy bear and pacifier. 

He hands the items to Steve. Steve sets the pacifier on the bed next to Bucky, and hands him the teddy bear. He holds the bottle for Bucky to drink, but Bucky whines and pushes it away. He reaches out for Sam.

Sam lays down on the bed next to Bucky, so now Bucky is sandwiched between him and Steve.

Bucky grabs a handful of Sam's shirt and holds it tight while he sucks at the bottle Steve is still holding. 

Steve chuckles. "He really wants you to sleep with us." 

"I can." Sam says. "If it's alright. I don't mind taking the couch."

"It's fine with me if it's fine with you." Steve says. "I don't think he'll let you leave anyway."

"No leave." Bucky agrees, trying to talk around the bottle nipple. Milk spills down his face when he does.

"Okay, baby. I won't leave." Sam says, wiping the milk off Bucky's face.

Bucky's content as he drinks his bottle, snug and warm cuddled up between daddy and uncle Sam. He's got his teddy bear in one arm and a handful of Sam's shirt in the other. Daddy holds the bottle with one hand and strokes his hair with the other. Uncle Sam is rubbing his tummy. He's so tired, he can't even stay awake for his milk. He barely notices when the bottle is replaced with the pacifier and the blanket is pulled over him. He wakes up a little when he feels uncle Sam move, but he's not leaving, he's just getting comfortable. Daddy and uncle Sam both cuddle him and he falls back to sleep fast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm running out of ideas for this story! I made this up on the spot because it's been too long since I updated it. I wanted to write a birthday fic for Bucky but I couldn't think of something, then I decided to take just a short nap which accidentally turned into a full 6 hours of sleep somehow, and woke up at like 7 PM. Then I just decided to write a chapter for this. And now it's 2:30 AM and I probably won't sleep because I accidentally slept all day and have now ruined my sleep schedule once again.


	12. Chapter 12

Steve is up around 9 AM. That's late by his standards, but it doesn't matter since he wakes up cuddling his baby Bucky. He's so happy to have Bucky back. He's almost afraid that he's still in a coma, and any minute he'll wake up and it will all have been just a dream, and Bucky's still somewhere being tortured by Hydra. He loves feeling the grounding weight of Bucky in his arms, letting him know it's real.

"Good morning." Steve says to Sam when he sees him waking up. Steve's been awake for a bit already, but he's stayed in bed to hold Bucky. 

"Morning." Says Sam, stretching. "Breakfast?"

"I'll be fine with just some toast, thanks. I'd like to stay with Bucky for a little longer."

"Maybe we should get out somewhere today." Sam says. "There's a littles playground nearby. It's within walking distance. Maybe a 10 minute walk. It would be good for him to get out and get some fresh air and exercise."

"Yeah, let's go when he wakes up."

☆

Bucky wakes up feeling kisses on his face. He squirms and opens his eyes, smiling when he sees his daddy above him.

"Hey baby boy." Daddy says. He's smiling too. "Did you have a nice sleep?"

Bucky nods, rubbing his eyes. He's still sleepy.

"Sorry to wake you up, but it's nearly 10! You went to bed early last night too so you had a nice long sleep. And you need a change before you leak."

Bucky lays still and quiet like a good boy while daddy changes his diaper. He likes being a good boy. 

"Look what I have!" Daddy says when he's done. He picks up a bottle off the nightstand and holds it out. He sits on the bed and lets Bucky climb into his lap to feed him the bottle. 

Bucky sighs, relaxed and content in daddy's lap while he drinks. He missed daddy so much. The warm milk is yummy when he sucks the nipple of the bottle as he blinks sleepily up at daddy. 

"Don't go falling back to sleep now, Bucky." Daddy says. "Don't you want to go to the park after breakfast?"

Bucky's eyes open wide at that, now he's awake! He wants to go to the park! He tries to finish his bottle a little faster, but not too fast because he doesn't like having to choke it down, and uncle Sam said he doesn't have to anymore. 

"Let's get you dressed." Daddy says. He goes to the closet and takes out his long sleeve red striped shirt and some black joggers. Daddy helps him get dressed and then helps him put on his socks and shoes, too.

They go to the kitchen and eat their breakfast of toast, oatmeal and fruit, and daddy packs a bag for Bucky and they leave.

Uncle Sam says it's not a long walk to the park but Bucky wants daddy to carry him anyway. Daddy says he's lucky he's super strong or Bucky would have to walk.

When they get there Bucky is excited! The playground looks so fun! There's swings, and slides, a jungle gym, a merry-go-round, monkey bars, it has everything! It's just like a children's playground but all the equipment is bigger for littles instead. Bucky runs straight to the biggest slide and goes down over and over. It's so much fun. Then he wants daddy to push him on the swing. Daddy lifts him up into the bucket swing and he giggles as daddy pushes him, he pushes him so high! After that, he goes to the sandbox.

In the sandbox he digs in the sand for a while, but it's not that much fun since he has no toys to play in the sand with. He should ask daddy and uncle Sam for toys. But maybe not. Because he's not supposed to ask for things. Or at least, he wasn't when he was with Hydra. But daddy and uncle Sam are nice! Maybe he can ask and not get in trouble. Outside of the sandbox it's all grass, leading to the trees separating the park from the road. He decides to go over there and look at the trees. 

He finds a log sitting in some mud, so he lifts it up. There's a bunch of ants, some spiders, and worms under it, and a couple of slimy slugs, and a frog! He grabs the frog, gently so he doesn't hurt it but strong enough that it won't hop away. He drops the log back down. He goes back towards the playground with his new froggy friend. 

"Bucky!" Daddy says. He's standing by the sandbox with his arms crossed. "Were you by the trees?" 

"Uh-huh." Says Bucky. He hopes he's not in trouble. Daddy didn't tell him _not_ to go by the trees.

"Don't go that way again. Stay where me and Sam can see you, please." Daddy says.

"Uh-huh daddy." Bucky says. "Sorry."

"It's okay, sweetheart. We're going home for lunch soon, so you have 10 more minutes, okay?"

"Kay." Bucky says.

"What do you have in your hand?" Daddy asks.

Bucky looks at his hand. The frog is in his hand and he can feel it moving around. He giggles. He holds his hand out for daddy and when daddy puts his hand out he gives him the frog.

"Oh." Daddy says, when he sees what's been put in his hand. His face does something funny like he tasted something yucky. Then he tries to smile. "What a nice little toad. That's cool, Bucky. Let's go put him back."

"He comes home." Bucky pouts. "With Bucky an' daddy an' uncle Sam."

"No, we can't take him with us. He lives here. His family will be very sad if we take him home because they won't get to see him anymore." Daddy says.

Bucky thinks about that. If someone came and took daddy or uncle Sam somewhere he would be sad if he didn't see them anymore. 

"He lives there." Bucky says, pointing to the trees. 

Bucky and daddy go over and put the toad on the log. It hops down and hops away, disappearing into a pile of leaves.

"Good job, Buck." Daddy says.

"I'm a good boy." Bucky says proudly. 

"You certainly are. Let's go home and have lunch." Daddy picks him up and they start walking home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I was a little kid I always used to find toads under logs and rocks and try to play with them. They probably weren't very happy about it but I didn't know 😑 I called them frogs too since I didn't know the difference. I even accidentally drowned a couple via leaving them in a bucket of water in the yard trying to keep them as "pets" because I thought all frogs lived in water! And only came on land to eat or something! I regret it but I was only a child. I really thought they could breathe in water like fish. To this day I love frogs and toads and I'm sad for the ones that fell victim to my childhood naivety. 
> 
> If anyone doesn't know what a bucket swing is, it's those seat swings they have at parks for babies and little kids. They look like this: https://swing-n-slide.com/child-bucket-swing/


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